Young Adult – Page 27 – Sneak Peek Books

Strange Star

In 1816 Switzerland, Lordy Byron and his guests have gathered around the fire to tell ghost stories. A pounding on the door reveals a strange girl covered in unusual scars, and she tells a chilling tale of her sister being snatched by Mary Shelley, one of the guests at the party.

The girl, Lizzie, tells her story of losing her mother, and almost losing her life to the experiments of an ambitious scientist. This scientist wants to use the power of electricity to bring the dead back to life. And she wants to use Lizzie in one of her experiments. Lizzie’s story was inspired by the book Frankenstein. Although the story has been adapted for a younger audience, the story will still give the audience a frightful chill. For the younger reader who likes to be frightened Strange Star is a creepy good horror story.

Sexual Content

Miss Goodwin’s father comes looking for her when she “runs away” with a man. “He’s come to bring her home before she brings shame on the family.”

Violence

A scientist orders her servant to kidnap Peg, who is locked in a cellar. As Lizzie tries to save her, they enter a room that has specimens, “like baby animals and birds and toads with two heads!”
After his employer scolds Mr. Walton, he takes out his humiliation on a servant. “Next came the thud of a fist hitting flesh. . . It was about his own humiliation. And like all bullies, he had to inflict it on someone else.”
Miss Stine and others grab Lizzie . “. . . More hands seized me, pulling my arms behind my back. I twisted. Shouted. Kicked out with my feet. I was no match for the two, maybe three sets of hands. They yanked me and turned me till I was sure my arms would be torn from their sockets.” She is tied to a chair, and wires are put on her. “She pressed cold metal against those places on my head, neck and feet. Wires crisscrossed my face.” Lizzie is let go when a dead wolf is brought in and Miss Stine decides to experiment on it instead of Lizzie.
When Lizzie tries to leave Miss Stien’s house, she is stopped. “We grappled our way down the passage like a pair of fighting village boys, all arms and elbows and kicking feet. Once or twice I slipped in something wet. Something oily. I didn’t want to think what it means . . . With my arms now pinned behind my back by his hand, I couldn’t wriggle free.”
A wolf attacks a man. “There was frenzy of claws. Snarling. Snapping. Something sounding horribly wet. Then came a rip, a tearing noise like a rabbit being skinned. And gurgling and gasping that was definitely human.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

Mercy believes that Lizzie and her mom are going to die because she saw their spirits in the cemetery on Midwinter’s Eve. “Pass by a church at midnight on Midwinter’s Eve and you’d see an entering it the souls of those who’d face death within the year. Those who came out again would survive. And those who didn’t . . .” Later in the year, lightning strikes Lizzie and her mom. Her mom dies.
Miss Stine believes the dead can be brought back to life with electricity. Miss Stine attaches wires to a wolf’s head, paws, and chest. When electricity surges through the wolf, he comes back to life.

Spiritual Content

None

Have Sword, Will Travel

Odo never dreamed of leaving his small town. His best friend, Eleanor, longs for adventure. Everything changes for the two of them when Odo pulls an enchanted sword, Biter, from the river.

Even though Odo doesn’t want adventure, Biter knights him and demands that Odo go on a quest to discover why the town’s river has dried up. Eleanor goes along, excited for the chance to explore the unknown. Along the way, Odo and Eleanor discover that life outside of their village is full of both good and evil and that danger often lurks in unexpected places.

A fast-paced story full of interesting characters—human and non-human— Have Sword, Will Travel takes the reader on an epic adventure. Eleanor is a feisty heroine and Odo is a reluctant hero that children will love. Written with humor, the story teaches lessons such as not bending the truth, fighting for what is right, and defending those in need.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

When two boys make fun of Odo, the sword attempts to attack them. The sword slices “a figure-eight through the air despite Odo’s efforts to keep him grounded.” Odo manages to stop the sword, and the boys run off.
Odo must fight Fyrennian, a cruel smith. When Biter attempts to kill Fyrennian, Odo “managed to pull back on the sword at the last moment, deflecting the sword from a killing thrust.”
Eleanor is corned by a huge dog. She flings hot coals on the floor, trapping the dog.
Someone hits Fyrennian on the head, and “the smith toppled forward like a stone.”
A refugee tells a story about “corpses drifting down the river, the bodies of people cooked to death in boiling water.”
Sir Saskia challenges Odo to a duel to keep the citizens entertained. The battle is described over several pages. Odo is outmatched, and Sir Saskia strikes Odo’s shoulder twice. “His shoulder felt like it was swelling up inside the armor.” She hits Odo in the same spot a third time, “on his shoulder again, jarring it so much he lost feeling all the way down his arm. His nerveless fingers could no longer hold the sword, and the grip on his left hand was too weak.” Odo is forced to yield.
A dragon attacks Odo and Eleanor. Odo strikes the dragon. “The blade scored a vivid line in the blackened hide, exposing softer bone-white flesh beneath . . . he stabbed forward and pierced one wing right up to the cross-guard.” An older woman comes and helps the children escape.
A group of Sir Saskia’s troops attacks Eleanor. A person trips and “impaled himself” on the sword. In the end, there is, “one wounded, one dying . . . maybe . . . and one surrendered.”
Odo and Eleanor blow up a dam that has been built to stop the river from flowing. When they do, Odo almost drowns. “Odo lay weakly on his stomach, coughing up dirty water while Eleanor pounded his back.”
Odo and Eleanor get into a battle with bandits. The battle lasts over several pages. “Biter came down point-first on Mannix’s shoulder, shearing through his armor as if it were no more than river mud. Mannix screamed and swore and clutched at the wound with his left hand, his right arm now useless.” During the fight, Eleanor is kicked with steel-clad boots, and “the pain was like fire.”

Drugs and Alcohol

At home, Eleanor drinks weak ale because water isn’t always clean.
Odo and Eleanor find a group of men passing around mugs. One of the men is telling a story. In the middle of the story he stops, and they see his “eyes suddenly rolling back into his head and his falling backward, unconscious. Fortunately, the arms of his friends were ready to catch him . . .”

Language

None

Supernatural

Biter, an enchanted sword, is able to talk and control his own movements. He teaches Odo how to wield a sword and act like a knight. Later in the story, the children find Biter’s sister, who believes she is cursed and will bring death to those who wield her.
A smith has a firestarter that came from a dragon. He uses it to terrorize others into working for him.
A dragon appears to judge several of the characters in the book. The dragon looks at Odo, “really looked at him. He felt her ancient, knowing gaze penetrate into the very depths of his being.” Mannix is found guilty and the “dragon’s tail moved again, whipping around like a scorpion’s, the long spike on the end stabbing Mannix right through the middle and then flipping him back into the dragon’s mouth. It happened so quickly he didn’t even have time to scream.” Another person is cursed and forced to do as the dragon commands.
Urthkin, “pale-skinned, reed-slender demi-humans” that have “paws like a mole’s, with digging claws,” only come out at night because light hurts their eyes. They believe that “wisdom comes from closer to the ground.”

Spiritual Content

None

The Lightning Thief

Percy’s life consists of him being moved from boarding school, to military school, to private school. Pretty much any school that will take him. Because no matter where he goes, or how good he tries to be, something always goes wrong.

At the end of sixth grade, Percy figures out why is life has always been so difficult. He is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, which makes him a half-blood. A demi-god. Monsters are attracted to him. To protect himself, Percy goes to Camp Half-blood, where he learns sword fighting, archery, and a myriad of other skills that he will need to survive. He soon learns that his father is on the brink of war with Zeus and that he may be the only one who can stop it. The Lightning Thief is an enjoyable adventure that will keep readers engaged. There is a lot of fighting with monsters, but asides from that this book is friendly to younger readers.

Sexual Content

Dionysus is on probation because he, “took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits.”

Violence

Percy is taught in class how Kronos ate his children “And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters.”
It turns out Percy’s teacher is a monster in disguise. “She snarled, ‘Die, honey!’ And she flew right at me . . . I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword. The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!”
Percy is in a car crash. “There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom!, and our car exploded. I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried and hosed down all at the same time.”
Percy loses his mother. “Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother’s neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form . . . A blinding flash, and she was simply . . . gone.”
Furies attack Percy. “I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust.”
Percy kills Medusa. “I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern – the sound of a monster disintegrating . . . I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock.”
A Chimera attacks Percy. “Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world’s largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me. I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows.”
Percy kills a monster. “The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty’s whole head struck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom . . . I had no qualms about what I was about to do . . . I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.”
Percy goes to the Underworld. “Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. And I saw worse tortures, too – things I don’t want to describe.”
Percy kills a wild boar in self-defense. “I slashed upward. The boar’s severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea . . . a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.”
Percy’s mother turns her abusive husband to stone with Medusa’s head.

Drugs and Alcohol

The director of Camp Half-Blood is Dionysus, the god of wine. “He waved his hand and a goblet appeared . . . The goblet filled itself with red wine.”

Language

None

Supernatural

Percy Jackson is a demi-god, the son of Poseidon. He goes to Camp Half-Blood, where there are demi-gods, satyrs, nymphs, a centaur, and even a minor god. All the monsters of Greek mythology are real too.

Spiritual Content

Percy and Chiron discuss the existence of the Greek gods. Percy said, “You’re telling me there’s such a thing as God.” Chiron replies, “God – capital G, God. That’s a different matter altogether. We shan’t deal with the metaphysical . . . gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That’s a smaller matter.”
Percy visits the Underworld, ruled by Hades.
After every meal at camp, “everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll . . . Burnt offerings for the gods.”

The Last Olympian

Percy has reached sixteen, the age at which the Great Prophecy will be revealed. Percy can’t spend time worrying about what the prophecy means because Kronos has stepped out of the shadows and has declared war against Olympus. It will take all the Olympians and demigods that Percy can muster to stop Kronos, and that might not even be enough.

The Last Olympian’s content grows with Percy, who must deal with death and war. The entire second half of the book spans a series of battles that take place in New York City. This is by far the most action-packed book in the series. While a couple of deaths are intense, the majority are monsters simply disintegrated into dust and the war is not graphically described.

Sexual Content

Rachel hints that she wants Percy to kiss her. Rachel says, “And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?”
Percy thinks about how demigods aren’t related to the children of other gods. “A demigod would never think about dating someone who had the same godly parent . . . But a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Hephaestus? They’re not related. So it’s no problem.”
Annabeth kisses Percy. “Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck . . . When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body.”

Violence

Percy kills a giant crab monster. “I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor . . . The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated.”
Percy and Beckendorf blow up an enemy ship, but Beckendorf doesn’t make it out. “The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. Beckendorf, I thought. Then I blacked out.”
Percy gets frustrated with a stubborn satyr. “I grabbed him by the shirt, which seriously wasn’t like me, but the stupid old goat was making me mad.”
Percy fights an army of the dead. “There was nothing left of them but weapons in the sand and piles of smoking, empty uniforms. I had destroyed them all . . . I looked down at my clothes. They were slashed to pieces and full of bullet holes, but I was fine. Not a mark on me.”
Conner thinks about looting a candy store when everyone in New York City is asleep.
Luke destroys Kronos by killing himself. “He stabbed himself. It wasn’t a deep cut, but Luke howled. His eyes glowed like lava. The throne room shook.”
The last half of this book is a giant war that takes place in New York City. There is a lot of violence and some deaths, but most of it is not graphically described.
“An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate.”
“I tossed [the Minotaur] over the side of the bridge. Even as he fell, he was disintegrating.”
“Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.”
“Her features, once beautiful, were badly burned from poison. I could tell that no amount of nectar or ambrosia would save her.”

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

Percy says “Oh, gods” once or twice.

Supernatural

The Oracle gives prophecies about the future that always come true.
Percy rides on a hellhound, who can travel through shadows.
Luke’s mother sees horrible visions of the future. “My child . . . Must protect him! Hermes, help! Not my child! Not his fate – no!”
Morpheus puts the city of New York to sleep.
Percy is dipped in the River Styx and becomes invincible.
Kronos resides in Luke’s body because Kronos has no form of his own.
Percy is a half-blood, the son of Poseidon. The Greek gods, monsters, and most things from the old Greek tales are all true.

Spiritual Content

Percy feels guilty for the deaths of the demigods who were killed when he blew up the enemy ship. Poseidon tells Percy, “They all chose to battle for Kronos . . . they chose their path.”

by Morgan Lynn

The Titan’s Curse

Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia are working together to save a pair of half-bloods from the monster who kidnapped them. But when Annabeth is lost, Percy will stop at nothing to save her. Meanwhile, Kronos bides his time, forever scheming to take over the world. His General has escaped eternal punishment and is amassing an army to take down Olympus. A prophecy tells of a quest to stop the upcoming terror, and Percy joins despite not being chosen to go. Soon he is traveling across the country with Thalia and three of Artemis’ Hunters on a journey to save Annabeth, a goddess, and the world itself.

This installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is riveting and full of suspense. As Percy grows he comes into his own as a powerful son of Poseidon. New characters keep this book fresh, while the constant action keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Aside from the frequent, non-graphic violence, there is little in this book that would exclude younger readers.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

When Apollo’s sun bus crashes into a lake, “steam billowed up . . . ‘Well,’ said Apollo with a brave smile . . . ‘Let’s go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?'”
Thalia and Percy get into a fight. “Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water . . . Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia’s face and dousing her from head to toe . . . Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into my chest.”
Percy fights a lion with his friends. “Immediately, arrows pierced the lion’s maw—two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.”
Percy fights skeleton creatures. “I thought I was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot me in the back . . . I landed face down in the street. Then I realized something . . . I wasn’t dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn’t hurt me.”
Bianca climbs into a giant robot to stop it from killing her and her friends. When Bianca stops the robot, it collapses, and Bianca “was gone.” Bianca’s friends assumed she died.
Dionysus, the god of wine, saves Percy from a manticore (a flying monster) and skeletons. “SNAP! It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One guard put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all fours . . . the planks under his paws erupted into grape wines, which immediately began wrapping around the monster’s body . . . until he was engulfed in a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes stopped shivering, and I had the feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no more.”
Zoe is wounded in a fight. “She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan’s forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn’s horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.”
Luke is mortally wounded. “Talia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell . . . We rushed to the cliff’s edge . . . They were staring at Luke’s broken form on the rocks.”
The Olympians debate whether to smite Percy and his friends. Poseidon says, “They are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits.”
While fighting a monster, Percy is injured. “My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I’d felt something like this before. Poison.”

Drugs and Alcohol

Thalia’s mother died. Someone explains her death: “heavy drinker, and apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, and . . . “
Dionysus mentions wine several times and procures it once or twice. “He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur He said, ‘Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback.'”

Language

Percy and his friends visit Hoover Dam and start making jokes about “the dam snack bar” and “some dam French fries” and “the dam restroom.”

Supernatural

The ancient Greek gods, heroes, and monsters are all real.
Bianca pledges herself to Artemis, and when she becomes one of Artemis’ maidens, she is granted immortality.
Zeus brings a pair of angel statues to life, so they can help his daughter.

Spiritual Content

After a battle, Artemis thinks the monsters are stirring. She says, “Let us pray I am wrong.” Percy asks, “Can goddesses pray?”

by Morgan Lynn

The Sea of Monsters

Percy is a year older, but much remains the same. Once again, Percy is expelled from school when attacked by monsters, and he must flee to Camp Half-Blood. But Camp Half-Blood is not the safe haven Percy was looking for. The camp’s magical boundaries are dying, and soon Percy is on another quest. Joined by Annabeth and his new half-brother Tyson, Percy traverses the Sea of Monsters to both rescue Grover and save the future of Camp Half-Blood.

A wonderfully engaging story, Percy takes readers on an epic journey of strength and heroism. The reader will learn about acceptance alongside Percy because one of the themes is not to judge someone based on his or her looks. The Sea of Monsters has many, well, monsters. As a result, there is much fighting, but the violence is not portrayed in a bloody manner.

Sexual Content

When they win a race, “Annabeth planted a kiss on [Percy’s] cheek.”

Violence

Percy plays dodgeball with cannibals. One cannibal says, “We Laistrygonians aren’t just playing for your death. We want lunch!” Then the cannibal “waved his hand and a new batch of dodgeballs appeared on the center line . . . They were bronze, the size of cannon balls, perforated like wiffle balls with fire bubbling out the holes.”
Annabeth kills one of the cannibals. “Suddenly the giant’s body went rigid. His expression changed from gloating to surprise. Right where his belly button should’ve been, his T-shirt ripped open and he grew something like a horn—no, not a horn—the glowing tip of a blade.”
Tantalus tells the story of why he was punished. “No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?”
Percy is attacked by a Hydra. “There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of us, showering us with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.”
Percy’s boat explodes. “I spun in the air, got clonked on the head by something hard, and hit the water with a crash . . . The last thing I remembered was sinking in a burning sea, knowing that Tyson was gone forever, and wishing I were able to drown.”
Percy runs into piranha sheep. “The deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves. Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air. A second later, the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.”
Percy and Clarisse fight the Cyclops. “She charged the Cyclops again and again. He pounded the ground, stomped at her, grabbed at her, but she was too quick. And as soon as she made an attack, I followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand.”

Drugs and Alcohol